Process of forming furnace-linings.



A. E. WHEELER & M. w. KEEJI. PROCESS OF FORMING FURNACE LININGS. APPLICATION FILED DEU.4, 1912.

H 1,068,470., Patented July 29, 1913.

WITNESSES: mvmvrozes. r'ckerE-h/fxee/er Wm 6 A 772170 Wire/54' I ym.

A TTORNE Y.

srnrnsij ng nnr curios.

Amman 1:; WHEELER AND mm in. newer; on GREAT EALJI1S,.EONEANA.

'rnocnss or remorse runnnen-rmmos.

To. allmhomtt. may concern;

Be it known. that we, ARCHER E. WVH ELER and MILO W. Knn.11, citizens of the Un ted States, residing at I fireat Falls, in the county of Cascade, and State of Montana, have invented certain new and, useful Improvements in, Proee'sses'ocf Forming Fugments in. processes of "forming furnace linings, and it consists in the novel fleatures more fully set f rth. in e specification. nd

pointedoht in the claims,

Im; he drawings, the figu ezepresents a vertical middle section of a copperconverter showing our invention applied;

. thereto,

The present invention though here shown as directed to the protection, of the basic liningof a copper converter, enericelly contemplates. the protection, of linings of an metallurgic or melting, furnace, crucib' [or other vessel, the object of the invention being to. form in situ, ordirectly on such lining, as a foundation, in. protecting cost which will protect such, foundation ngainstthe corrosive action of the charge normally treated in said furnace. In the example here selected, we apply our invention, to. the basic lining of a copper converter, such liningbeing usually composed 0:5 mag-neslte brick, (or other equivalentmaterial',) -thesaid lining serving as afoundntion towhichour protecting layer may ed.- herc. It is to be understood, however, that we do not wish to restrict the application at our invention to protecting layers for basic linings; but desire to apply the layer toany foundation whatsoever to which the layer will adhere.

A fiurther object is to rovide a, protecting layer; which is practical y infusible, or fusible with difiiculty at the prevailing. tempera.-

t'unes at which the usuali furmrce charge 18 treated, the composition ofi the laye-ipbemg such as not to enter into chemical combination' either with any oftheelements of the charge while the latter is being treated, or with the foundation w ich the luycris designed to protect. The inert, an dr'relat vely infusiblecharacter of the protecting hiyer,

3pec1floaitiian of Letters Intent. Applicziti'on al s December 4, 1912. Serial in; mesa,

rerouted eni w, new;

{by virtne or its, lasting qualities, dispenses i-wi'th. the fireq uent renewals, and. repairs of furnacev and converter linin .5, now so gen- ;erally necessary Where sme ting and refinoperations. are carried on. By our in.- vention the. protecting layer is directly d'e- Qnved; and. segregated from, the charge in troduced intov the furnace, the segregating ;pn'ocess. resultingfrom the oxidation (-or co awersion into infusible compounds)! of certtt J IL metallic bases. (present in the charge) -w1th0ut' the addition of fluxes, all as will i b m re. full". apparent from a detailed deserigion of he, invention, which, when ap- EIIQ to a basic lined copper oonvertenmay e described. as. follows;

Referring to. the drawin s, 0 represents the outer shell; of an uprig t type of con,- ver er, W the wind-box, T the twyers, and M5 the basic lining thereof, in the present case composed ofimagnesite brick, all as well understood in the art. No, means for tipast eyconstitute no. part of the present in vention; besides any means known to the int may be improvised, it being suflicient for our present pun se to. hear in mind that pi'n%l or tilting the converter are here shown the converter is t1 table. as is usual with this type of turnace.

The protecting layer forming the subject- I matter of the present improvement is represented by the reference symbol L, said layer ranging anywhere from two to six' inches in thickness. This layer is derived directly from a chirge' of matte blown in the converter, the charge averaging about eighteen inches in depth above the center line of the tw ers, the level of said charge being indicate by the dotted line w. Matte, -as. is well, known is a sulfid' of cop er (Cu s); containin an admixture of so fid of iron, (FeS), e'n other impurities. When a charge of matte is blown in a converter provided with a basic lining, a silicious fllix is. added in the "shape of silica or silicious ore, the some forming a silicate or slag with the iron (and other bases constitutin the impurities) the sulfur of the iron (on any rclnoved,-leaving (lu s or white metal ,from the copper sulfid in the converter, which upon further blowing is converted into metallic copper, the reaction being substantially as follows that is to say, a portion of the copper sulfid is first oxidized to the first oxid, which in turn reacting with unconverted portions of the sulfid reduces the latter, the sulfur bein oxidized-to S0 The foregoing reactions substantially represent the steps of conversion from matte to metallic copper and ,are here outlined to better illustrate the application of our invention. This contemplates the blowing of an initial charge of matte without the addition of fluxes (silica or silicious ore) the y In the practical o eration of our rocess the charge is blown without flux) or a short time to a; temperature not in excess of 2606' degrees Fahrenheit, the blast being then cut off and the converter turned down to cool, in which turning: down the material runs over the magneslte foundation M, a layer of the segre ated iron oxids adhering thereto along suc portions as it will. The converter is then turned up again and blown fora short perib'd (without flux) and again turned down and allowed to cool (say from ten to twenty minutes) when the iron oxids .will adhere to other portions of the basic lining. Considerable vportions of the layer of iron oxids' are of course distributed over the magnesite foundation by the splashing of the contents during the blowing, and these added to the portions adhering to such foundation each time the converter is turned down form an a regate rotectin layer of thia desirable in the niajori'ty of cases. Where the quantity ofiron in an intt-ial'chargeof matte (the charge being usually from twelve to eighteen inches above the twyers) is 'insufiicient to furnish the necessary quantit of iron oxide for a desired thickness 0; the protecting layer, the copper sulfid or white metal remaini upon the exhaustion of the iron, is remove from the converter, and another charge of matte is added and blown (without flux) andthe operations are re eated until a layer of roper thickness as accumulated. This a'yer as previously stated, may be from two to six inches in thickness. Where matte is the charge initially blown, the segregated oxid is decidedly magnetic and is probably a mixture of Fe,(), and Fe O though its precise composition is not here attempted to be defined. At the temperature at which matte is blown for copper conversion (when flux is added to the charge to slag the iron) the layer of iron oxids above -described is practically infusible or fusible with difficulty, so that in the normal operations of the converter the layer of oxid protects its basic foundation for a considerable eriod of verter. When flux (silica or silicious ore) is added to the charge in the normal operation of copper conversiom-the heat generated by the blast and oxidation of the iron is absorbed in the melting of the 'flux so that the tem'- perature of copper conversion is always considerably lower than that to which the initial charge was raised during the formation of the layer of iron oxids or protecting coating. In forming the coating the temperature infact risesfvery rapidly and that is the reason why the charge is left to cool and the converter turned down, an excessive heat not'only being destructive to the vessel but retarding in a measure the desired segregation of the iron oxids from the white metal or copper sulfid. Where subsequent charges of matte are regularly blown in a converter whose lining is protected by a layer such as here described, thelayer is practically inert or infusible because the temperatures at WlllCh the normal operations are carried on never rise high enough to attack theprotecting layer. In thejregular or normal blowing of copper, the flux added to the charge combines with the iron so that it time, thus prolonging the life 0 the con-- I i leaves the protecting layer intact, and the temperature-of conversion being below thefusing point of the layer the latter is not:

disturbed. Of course, in practice the coat of oxid will vary or fluctuate in thickness, sometimes becoming thinner lind at ti increasin in thickness. When it becomes too thin a c liarge maybe blown with a deficiency of flux, .which would have the effect of depositing oxid on the layer and thus increasmg its thickness; if the layer became too thick, a charge mav be blown at an increased will reduce the thick ness, or an excess of flux may 'beadded which will slag oif a part ofthe coat, or-

both high temperature and an excess'of flux may be resorted to.

It is of course, to foundation for the inner protecting layer or coat need notbe a basic one, the-magncsite be understood-that the lining M being here selected merely by way of example; neither is it to be understood that we are to be restricted to a method of forming the coat without the use of a flux because in some particular applications 0 neonate our process it might be desirable to add flux for the purpose of forming some particular compound; neither are weto be limited to the formation of iron oxide, because any equivalent thereof segregated from an initial charge, and whose fusing point is above the tem erature at which the charge is to be wor ed in the vessel afterward, is contemplated by our invention, provided the coat is formed 1n place or in situ from the molten contents of the vessel. For example, if some compound of aluminum were fused m a vessel and subsequently blown, the aluminum oxid A1 0, thus formed and adhering to the inner walls of the vessel would be an equivalent of the iron oxids described above. For

' convenience it may be well to designate the protecting coat or layer L as a linin and the magnesite la er M'as the foundation, it being understoo that we do not limit ourselves to any particular kind of foundation nor to any specific composition of lining, those here described serving as convenient examples where our invention is applied to coating the insides of copper converters lined. with magnesite.

It may be stated in passing that when a newly lined converter is put intoaction after I havin been first properly heated; it has been t e usual ractice to first treat one or more charges 0 white metal (Cu s) so as to coat the lining (foundation), or to merely aportion of the charge treated, and

is not formed or segregated from, the charge as an independent, inert, infusible layer or compound. such as contemplated b our process. A coat resulting from the ad esion of a portion of the treated charge of white metal, or a c arge of matte to which flux has been ad ed is short-lived, and being composed in the main of Cu sois reduced to metallic copper by reacting with the copper oxid formed in the blowing of a regular.

charge as already pointed out in the reaction in connection with copper conversion.

Under our process, what adheres to the foundation is an inert la er segregated from the charge, such layer eing practically a unitary or monolithic infusible coat or sheet spread over the inner walls of the converter.

lts inertness is due to the fact that it does not-combine with the regular charges normally treated in the converter, the iron and other impurities in said charges being slngged oil" by a proper comp ement of added fluxes, the thickness of the coat being controlled by a properregulation of the fluxes so added, and by the temperature of principle of our invention is'the segregation of a component part of a molten" charge and the conversion of such 'comf nent into an in ert, infusible compound whlch will adhere to the walls of the furnace or. converter, theconversion being preferably brought about by the oxidation of the metallic base of said component. The invention is furtherbh'ar acterized by the fact that the segregated" compound formsa coat or lining in situ, or

directly on the furnace wall from the molten charge, treated in the furnace. By [thusblowing a charge of matte in a newly lined converter without the addition of flux, and

causing the segregated iron oxide to be spread over the lining b'ythe conjoint action of the blast and by properly tilting, or turning down of the converter, an inert, in; tdgral, 'infusible coat will be formed which will protect-the original linin or founda'- tion or an indefinite period'o time during the subseguent normaloperations of the con verter. detached for any reason, it may be readily renewed by blowing a charge without flux or hould the protecting coat become with a deficiency of flameswill appeal to the skilled operator.

The process herein may only in the treatment or'conversion of cop; per, but is equally applicable in the tre'a ment or converting o be practised not nickel-,5: cop r-nickel,

iron, steel, and other metals; neit or is it to;

be restricted in'its ap lication to converters, but may be ract 4 smelting, re ucin'g, or metallurgical furnaces, be the same movable or stationary. To avoid a Wasting away of the protecting coat or'lining, care should be exercised in the normal. operation of the converter to keep down the quantity of flux to a point where it will no more than satisfy the iron of the matte constituting the charge being blown, otherwise any 'excessof flux (silica) will slag the lining and in'time destroy it, thereby necessitat ng fr uent renewals. This matter however, will e understood by the operator and no such consequences need arise.

Having described our invention, what we claim is:

1. In the formation of furnace linings, the process of introducing a molten charge into the furnace, difiusing oxygen through the charge and thereby segregating there from in-az'tu a free oxidize compound ad; herable to the furnace walls and forming a therefor. I

lining 2. n the formation of furnace linings, the.

process of fusing a. charge within the furnace, introducing from without a current- .of oxygen into the charge, thereby segregating from the char e an city; a component "with other forms of convertible into'a ree oxidized compound infusible at the temperature of normal the blow as already outlined. 'l'heogeneric operation of the furnace, and causingsaid the process of delivering currents of air to a-fused composite metallic charge thereby oxidizing suitable base com onents of said charge, segregating zn-si-tu t e oxids of the base meta thus formed, and causing a diffusifih thereof over the inner surface of the converter. I z .5. In the formation of converter linings, the process of delivering currents" of air to a fused compositev metallic charge thereby oxidizing suitable base omponents of said charge, segregating in sz'tu the oxids of the base metals thus formed, and causing a dif fusion thereof in sheet form over the inner surface of the converter.

6. In the formation o-fcopper converter linings, the process of blowing a charge of matte in a converter provided with an inner basic layer, oxidizing the iron and sulfur of the charge without the addition of flux and thereby segregating the oxids of the base metal thus formed, diffusing said segregated oxids over the surface of. the basic layer whereby an inert, infusible, monolithic layer of iron oxids is formed on'the basic layer.

7. In the formation of conyerter linings, the process of blowing a charge of matte in a converter provided with an inner layer serving as a foundation, oxidizing the metals of the compounds forming the im urities of the matte without the presence 0 fluxes,

"whereby the oxids of the base metals become segregated from the copper to be recovered,

and manipulating the converter to cause the segregated oxids to distribute themselves as a sheet over the foundation layer.

8. In the formation of furnace linings, the process of fusing a charge containing a mixture of metallic compounds a portion of whose oxidized bases fuse at a higher temperature than the oxids of the metals to be recovered, introducing oxygen and thereby oxidizing the metals whose oxids have the higher fusing point, in situ, whereby the same becomes segregated from the compounds of the metals to be recovered, and causing a diffusion of the oxids so formed over the inner surface of the furnace whereby an inert, infusible, monolithic coat or layer is formed.

9. In the formation of furnace linings, the process of fusing a char e composed of a mixture of metallic sul ds the sulfur of.

which has greater aflinity for a portion of the metals than for the remainmg portion,

blowing the charge without the presence of fluxes to oxidize the sulfur and the metals for which the sulfur has the least affinity, and segregating in situ the-oxids of said last mentioned metals, and causing a diffusion of said oxids over the inner surface of the furnace whereby an inert, infusible monolithic layer is formed capable of resisting the temperature resulting from the blowing 10. In the formation of converter linings,

I of subsequent charges in the presence of fluxes, segregating in situ the oxids of the base metals thus rmed and causing a difinner surface of the converter.

the process of fusin' a charge-composed of compounds of mixe bases, infusing into the charge a complement of ox gen sufficient to oxidize a portion of said ases, whereby the same becomes segregated in situ, and causing a diffusion of said segregated oxids in sheet form over the innersurface of the furnace. r

In testimony .whereof, we a-flix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

ARCHER E WHEELER. MILO W. ICREJCL Witnesses:

C. R. KUZELL, T. P. CORCORA'N.

fusion of the same in sheet form over'the 

